In India only 7-9 per cent of retailers use any kind of software to manage their business operations, Varun Tangri, Founder & CEO, QueueBuster, said, highlighting a significant gap in digitalisation within the country’s retail landscape.
According to Tangri, the primary reason for this digital divide is the requirement for traditional methods involving desktops, laptops, printers, scanners, and cash drawers. However, he believes that change is on the horizon and that Indian merchants have the potential to make a substantial leap in automation.
“Indian merchants can actually grow from 8-10 per cent automation to 30-40 per cent, comparable to developed countries,” the CEO stated in an exclusive conversation with BW Retail World.
While talking about e-waste, he pointed out that traditional Windows-based systems in electronic stores often involve multiple hardware components near the billing counter, such as desktops, CPUs, monitors, keyboards, printers, scanners, etc., “This is collectively a huge potential e-waste,” Tangri highlighted.
He explains that retail automation with a smartphone can be a solution. By eliminating the need for multiple hardware components, the automation system contributes to environmental sustainability by reducing e-waste by an estimated 80-90 per cent.
Furthermore, he said, “India aims to become a USD 7 trillion economy in the next five years, but that would be unattainable if the retail industry does not grow at that pace, which is almost 50 per cent.”
QueueBuster started in 2016, and in June 2022, the company raised its series A funding of USD 8.2 million from 5 investors. It aims to reach over 10 million merchants in India by 2025
“There are almost 70 million merchants that operate in the Indian context and landscape which is going to grow to almost 100 million by 2025-27 as the economy keeps growing and we aim to reach over 10 million merchants in India by 2025,” Tangri said.
As per him India’s SaaS market is expected to reach USD 25 billion by 2025 and its contribution to the global SaaS market will grow from 2-4 per cent to 7-10 per cent.
